Inspired by the sunny side of life, rad Mamas Alana & Jaz are defeating the pink for girls and blue for boys stereotypes with their retro baby-ware brand Banabae. Bursting with bright nostalgia and driven by their customers, Banabae has grown up to be a big kid in small worlds making forever wares kids will cherish and remember while keeping focus on doing good for the planet contributing to protect the coastal lifestyle they cherish so much.
INTERVIEW BY ANNA HEYLIGERS
IMAGES BY ANNA HEYLIGERS
Inspired by the sunny side of life, rad Mamas Alana & Jaz are defeating the pink for girls and blue for boys stereotypes with their retro baby-ware brand Banabae. Bursting with bright nostalgia and driven by their customers, Banabae has grown up to be a big kid in small worlds making forever wares kids will cherish and remember while keeping focus on doing good for the planet contributing to protect the coastal lifestyle they cherish so much.
INTERVIEW BY ANNA HEYLIGERS
IMAGES by anna heyligers
Hey Jaz and Alana, tell us a little bit about you and what you do?
We are mama’s who make vintage inspired and sustainable nursery wares. We worked together for many years in the corporate fashion world. Alana a textile designer, and Jaz more on the business and production side of things.
Alana started designing Banabae when she had her first baby and found the swaddle market saturated with prints that were uninspiring and fabrics that were unethical and did not feel beautiful and soft the way she expected. The first range was brought to life with retro inspired swaddles and cashmere blankets. Jaz was the first customer so naturally when it was time for her to start a family, she joined Alana to co-found Banabae.
We absolutely love working together and each bring the yin or yang... we’re not sure who brings which, but its here :). We constantly bounce ideas off each other in all aspects of the business and it just works! We are both in stages of life where second babies are due to arrive (and have already!) so Banabae is far from a two lady show. Without our families, the magical Ash tooting the marketing horn and Nerissa being our go to customer service gal Banabae would not work as well as it does!
I’d love to know where the name Banabae came from?
Haha! Everyone does...I wish there was a cooler story here but there isn’t. Naming a business is a nightmare and you really want to find a word that sounds good, looks good and that you can assign your own meaning /brand to. Alana simply combined the first part of her nickname and the first part of her surname to create the word Bana-bae….. that’s it. Now the word Banabae has really taken on the meaning of our brand! Sunny sustainable nursery wares.
Hey Jaz and Alana, tell us a little bit about you and what you do?
We are mama’s who make vintage inspired and sustainable nursery wares. We worked together for many years in the corporate fashion world. Alana a textile designer, and Jaz more on the business and production side of things.
Alana started designing Banabae when she had her first baby and found the swaddle market saturated with prints that were uninspiring and fabrics that were unethical and did not feel beautiful and soft the way she expected. The first range was brought to life with retro inspired swaddles and cashmere blankets. Jaz was the first customer so naturally when it was time for her to start a family, she joined Alana to co-found Banabae.
We absolutely love working together and each bring the yin or yang... we’re not sure who brings which, but its here :). We constantly bounce ideas off each other in all aspects of the business and it just works! We are both in stages of life where second babies are due to arrive (and have already!) so Banabae is far from a two lady show. Without our families, the magical Ash tooting the marketing horn and Nerissa being our go to customer service gal Banabae would not work as well as it does!
I’d love to know where the name Banabae came from?
Haha! Everyone does...I wish there was a cooler story here but there isn’t. Naming a business is a nightmare and you really want to find a word that sounds good, looks good and that you can assign your own meaning /brand to. Alana simply combined the first part of her nickname and the first part of her surname to create the word Bana-bae….. that’s it. Now the word Banabae has really taken on the meaning of our brand! Sunny sustainable nursery wares.
Your retro prints are so original, very different to traditional baby ware. Where did the inspiration come from?
Alana: I’ve always loved anything vintage and music from the 70’s. The very first range was designed with nostalgia for my own childhood whilst listening to the Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, Elton John etc. I also hate the whole pink for girls, blue for boys and grey for unisex. So boring! Childhood should be fun and colourful! It was clear from the beginning that the retro vibe of our prints was a niche we could work with and customers loved it from the get go.
Do you design your own prints, or work with other artists and designers?
Both. Alana sets the tone of each range and primarily creates all of the artwork. We sometimes also work with wonder women illustrators like Harley and J and Zoe Potaka who bring their amazing flair to a print.
Tell us about your fabrics, printing process and sustainable practices?
This is a huge driving force for Banabae, we are always looking at how we can improve processes and reduce our footprint.
We source fibREs that use less chemicals and less water consumption. Our baby linens are Organic Cotton, bamboo and Hemp which we digitally print with water based dyes. Hemp is a particular favourite fibRE for us! It is an absolute all rounder, using no chemicals, less water for production and then the final result is hardy yet perfect for babies with their super sensitive permeable skin.
Another aspect that we are super focused on is minimiSing single use plastics. We have seen this as a massive issue in the commercial supply chain over the years in the industry and we are passionate about not contributing to this. Banabae goodies arrive in cotton reusable bags and compostable satchels.
Your retro prints are so original, very different to traditional baby ware. Where did the inspiration come from?
Alana: I’ve always loved anything vintage and music from the 70’s. The very first range was designed with nostalgia for my own childhood whilst listening to the Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, Elton John etc. I also hate the whole pink for girls, blue for boys and grey for unisex. So boring! Childhood should be fun and colourful! It was clear from the beginning that the retro vibe of our prints was a niche we could work with and customers loved it from the get go.
Do you design your own prints, or work with other artists and designers?
Both. Alana sets the tone of each range and primarily creates all of the artwork. We sometimes also work with wonder women illustrators like Harley and J and Zoe Potaka who bring their amazing flair to a print.
Tell us about your fabrics, printing process and sustainable practices?
This is a huge driving force for Banabae, we are always looking at how we can improve processes and reduce our footprint.
We source fibREs that use less chemicals and less water consumption. Our baby linens are Organic Cotton, bamboo and Hemp which we digitally print with water based dyes. Hemp is a particular favourite fibRE for us! It is an absolute all rounder, using no chemicals, less water for production and then the final result is hardy yet perfect for babies with their super sensitive permeable skin.
Another aspect that we are super focused on is minimiSing single use plastics. We have seen this as a massive issue in the commercial supply chain over the years in the industry and we are passionate about not contributing to this. Banabae goodies arrive in cotton reusable bags and compostable satchels.
I love that you donate to the Australian Marine Conservation Society, was anything driving this cause to support?
We, like many of our customers love the coastal lifestyle of Australia. With this love comes great concern about the threats of Global warming on our oceans. We wanted to find a charity that addressed this issue in a hands on and proactive way. We love the amazing work that the AMC does to protect marine biodiversity and wildlife in Australia. They advocate for evidence based solutions based on the best available science . They have run many successful campaigns including protecting Ningaloo reef, a global ban on whaling, preventing mining on the great barrier reef….among many others.
When you’re not working on Banabae what else keeps you busy?
Jaz: Family keeps life pretty exciting. We love finding ways to spend time together outside and enjoying the beautiful area. Heading down to the one of the local beaches with umbrellas and buckets in tow is a guaranteed win.
Alana: Other than spending time with my kidlets I don’t have much spare time. But I can guarantee you if I’m not playing with them I am cooking. I’ll cook to procrastinate .... rather than cleaning my messy house 😂
Any future plans you can share with us?
Plans are something we are never short of :) Banabae have a lot in the pipe line. To name a couple we will have lots of new clothing for babies and kids, we will be launching our 'big kids' bedding and there are lots more beautiful goodies for the mamas coming soon too.
learn more about alana and jaz here
I love that you donate to the Australian Marine Conservation Society, was anything driving this cause to support?
We, like many of our customers love the coastal lifestyle of Australia. With this love comes great concern about the threats of Global warming on our oceans. We wanted to find a charity that addressed this issue in a hands on and proactive way. We love the amazing work that the AMC does to protect marine biodiversity and wildlife in Australia. They advocate for evidence based solutions based on the best available science . They have run many successful campaigns including protecting Ningaloo reef, a global ban on whaling, preventing mining on the great barrier reef….among many others.
When you’re not working on Banabae what else keeps you busy?
Jaz: Family keeps life pretty exciting. We love finding ways to spend time together outside and enjoying the beautiful area. Heading down to the one of the local beaches with umbrellas and buckets in tow is a guaranteed win.
Alana: Other than spending time with my kidlets I don’t have much spare time. But I can guarantee you if I’m not playing with them I am cooking. I’ll cook to procrastinate .... rather than cleaning my messy house 😂
Any future plans you can share with us?
Plans are something we are never short of :) Banabae have a lot in the pipe line. To name a couple we will have lots of new clothing for babies and kids, we will be launching our 'big kids' bedding and there are lots more beautiful goodies for the mamas coming soon too.
Learn more about Alana and Jaz here.
previous entry
common people #32
With hand-dyed botanical prints and an ethical ethos, Fabrik founder Sarah Hardie takes slow fashion to a loving and humble place. Based on the South Coast, and extending its production to a sustainable studio in Bali, the brand is built on the foundations of transparency in the industry. Sarah tells Noel & Gladys a little bit about her inspiration and introduces her new blog series, based around finding a sense of calm in mundane tasks while we are in isolation.
COMMON PEOPLE #32
With hand-dyed botanical prints and an ethical ethos, Fabrik founder Sarah Hardie takes slow fashion to a loving and humble place. Based on the South Coast, and extending its production to a sustainable studio in Bali, the brand is built on the foundations of transparency in the industry. Sarah tells Noel & Gladys a little bit about her inspiration and introduces her new blog series, based around finding a sense of calm in mundane tasks while we are in isolation.
